100个儿童英语小故事: The Darning Needle 织补针

 

044 The Darning Needle

Long ago, there was a needle. She thought she was so delicate that she was appropriate only for embroidery². "Hold me tight. I am so tiny that you can't find me if I fall on the floor." The needle shouted at the fingers.

"What an arrogant³ needle!" The thumb talked to the needle bluntly. "You know you can't embroider¹ without me, so be careful!" The needle was still arrogant.

The fingers brought the needle to the cook's shoes. His shoes were worn-out, and they needed to be sewed. "Yeck! Oh no! I don't want to sew this dirty pair of slippers⁴. I will break because I am so delicate and sensitive." The needle broke in pieces.

Once the needle broke, it was not useful any more. The fingers threw the needle into a dishpan. The needle cried out when she was swept away along with the dirty water. "I am too weak to live in this harsh and tough world."

She arrived at a pile of garbage after floating around. Then, she found something sparkling among the garbage. "What is this? Are you a diamond?" But it was a piece of broken glass bottle.

The piece of glass bottle and the needle thought they were very important. "I used to embroider, but the five finger brothers broke me into pieces like this." "I was very rich. I could have anything that I wanted like Juice, apple jam and even chocolate. Anything! But the evil five finger brothers broke me into pieces like this." They treated each other with respect as if they were real brothers.

One day, the finger brothers showed up in the sewer⁵. The kids were searching for a coin and were swinging their hands in the water. "Ouch!" One boy cried out in pain. He got his hand pricked⁶ by the needle. "What is this? A needle!"

He pulled out the needle from his finger. He was very angry at the needle and threw her into the fireplace. "Ouch. This is too hot!" Her body slowly began to melt away.

"Why do they keep torturing a weak and small needle like me?" The needle cried sadly. Then the fireplace heard the needle's crying and said,

"Don't be sad, little needle. You have done your job very well. Anyone, who has completed his duty, is supposed to turn back into soil. You worked so hard your own body broke into pieces. That's good enough. Now, take a deep and peaceful rest." After she heard what the fireplace said, the needle closed her eyes quietly.

1 embroider   

v.刺绣于(布)上；给…添枝加叶，润饰

参考例句：

• The editor would take a theme and embroider upon it with drollery.编辑会将一篇文章，以调侃式的幽默笔调加以渲染。
• She wants to embroider a coverlet with flowers and birds.她想给床罩绣上花鸟。

2 embroidery   

n.绣花，刺绣；绣制品

参考例句：

• This exquisite embroidery won people's great admiration.这件精美的绣品，使人惊叹不已。
• This is Jane's first attempt at embroidery.这是简第一次试着绣花。

3 arrogant   

adj.傲慢的，自大的

参考例句：

• You've got to get rid of your arrogant ways.你这骄傲劲儿得好好改改。
• People are waking up that he is arrogant.人们开始认识到他很傲慢。

4 slippers   

n. 拖鞋

参考例句：

• a pair of slippers 一双拖鞋
• He kicked his slippers off and dropped on to the bed. 他踢掉了拖鞋，倒在床上。

5 sewer   

n.排水沟，下水道

参考例句：

• They are tearing up the street to repair a sewer. 他们正挖开马路修下水道。
• The boy kicked a stone into the sewer. 那个男孩把一石子踢进了下水道。

6 pricked   

刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛

参考例句：

• The cook pricked a few holes in the pastry. 厨师在馅饼上戳了几个洞。
• He was pricked by his conscience. 他受到良心的谴责。